Business

Your daily overview for May 18, 2026

Bitcoin and ether sank after the US president told Iran that “time is running out”, sending oil higher and triggering large cryptocurrency sell-offs.

State-linked Fars News reported that Iran’s Ministry of Economy is working on a plan to manage shipping across the strait with Bitcoin payments.

The DeFi lending protocol has reversed restrictions imposed after April’s $292 million exploit, restoring borrowing capacity across six networks as contagion fears ease.

AI agents and automated payments could reach a scale that crypto surveillance systems designed for human-paced markets cannot handle, warned Simone Maini, CEO of Elliptic.

Bitcoin Depot, the largest Bitcoin ATM operator in North America and listed on Nasdaq, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Ether and bitcoin led the selloffs as their prices fell due to macroeconomic concerns.

Hyperliquid’s HYPE token rose 7% over 24 hours after Trade.xyz launched the first pre-IPO perpetual market on the platform, providing synthetic exposure to SpaceX at a benchmark valuation of $1.78 trillion.

The latest attack adds to the growing chain of cross-chain infrastructure exploits.

Long-term holders are still sitting and exchange balances remain near six-year lows, according to data from Binance Research, but underwater short-term holders make BTC vulnerable to macroeconomic shocks.